As an environmentally-friendly vehicle, an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, a fuel cell vehicle, and the like incorporating a power storage device and also incorporating a motor as a driving device have attracted attention in recent years. It is also considered that the hybrid vehicle is configured to be rechargeable from the outside.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-222176 discloses a communication system in which a first communication system unit provided on the electric vehicle side and a second communication system unit provided on the electric power supply side supplying electric power for charging the electric vehicle communicate with each other through an electric power supply line for supplying electric power for charging the electric vehicle from the electric power supply side.
An example of information required on the vehicle side includes a road map of the car navigation system, music information, and the like, which are often required during vehicle running.
In order to receive data in real time during vehicle running, it is considered that, for example, the wireless communication is performed between the distribution center storing the information and the vehicle. However, the wireless communication greatly depends on the conditions of the communication infrastructure and also involves various constraints.
However, in the method of receiving the information distribution through the electric power supply line during the charging of the vehicle as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-222176, all of the operations should be carried out during the charging. For example, the driver may forget at the time of the charging which area in the road map is required, and the input operation during the charging may be complicated.